Appalachian State 78, Davidson 68
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Donald Sims scored a career-high 44 points as Appalachian State University men's basketball overcame an early 12-point deficit to defeat Davidson, 78-68, at Belk Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Mountaineers (8-7, 2-2 SoCon) shot 53.2 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from downtown in the win.
Sims scored 21 points in the first half as the Mountaineers closed the opening period on a 14-3 run to take a 37-35 advantage to the locker room.
The Apps extended the advantage to seven points at 57-50 before the Wildcats (7-9, 2-2) made their move and regained a one-point lead with seven minutes left on the clock.
From there, ASU went on a 17-3 run to put the game away at 78-65 before a Davidson trey closed the margin to 10 points in the waning seconds of the game.
Isaac Butts returned to form down low, as the big man scored 13 points and added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He was 6-of-7 from the field and swatted both of the team's blocks.
Accompanying Butts in the post, Josh Hunter pulled in seven rebounds and scored one point, while holding DC's starting forwards to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting for the game.
Sims' total was the fourth-highest in school history and the most since Stan Davis set the record with 56 points against Carson-Newman in 1974.
He sank 13-of-19 field goal attempts and 5-of-7 threes. The junior guard also found his way to the free throw a career-best 13 times, where he was perfect.
Once Davidson began to bear down on the sharp-shooter, the floor opened up for Kellen Brand to score 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting. Brand came off the bench after starting 46-consecutive games and added three rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes on the floor.
Starting in his place, Marcus Wright contributed four points with an assist and a steal.
The Appalachian defense held Bob McKillop's squad to 38.7 percent shooting and 11-of-30 from downtown. DC hurt its own cause by sinking just 9-of-18 free throws.
JP Kuhlman led the Wildcats with 18 points and four rebounds, while three other starters also reached double-figure points. Appalachian held a 39-25 advantage on the boards to snap a four-game losing streak against Davidson.
The loss was just the second of the season at home for DC, who is 42-6 at home over the last four seasons. Appalachian dealt DC its only home loss in the 2006-07 season.
UNC Greensboro 88, Furman 78
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro scored a season-high 48 points in the first half to open up a big lead and then had to hold off a late charge at UNCG topped Furman, 88-78, in Southern Conference men's basketball action at the Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
Koivisto became the 17th player in school history to record 1,000 career points in the process. He hit a jumper from the right side off Kyle Randall's inbound pass with 11:52 left in the first half to give himself
1,001 points for his career. The senior from Vantaa, Finland who got to play in front of his father Saturday for the first time since enrolling at UNCG, now has 1,005 for his career.
Koivisto and Brian Cole each had 14 points to lead the Spartans (3-12, 2-2 SoCon), while Pete Brown tied a career-high with 12 points. Brandon Evans and Ben Stywall each chipped in 11 and Kyle Randall had 10 to make it the first time six Spartans have scored in double figures since December 16, 2004 against Guilford College. Cole also had a career-high with eight rebounds to lead UNCG on the boards.
In a game that saw 60 combined fouls and 91 free throws taken, the Spartans set a new school record with 54 free throw attempts. The previous school record was 49 attempts against Chicago State on February 20, 1993. The 54 attempts by UNCG were the eighth-highest total in Southern Conference
history and the most since Davidson went to the line 57 times against The Citadel on January 26, 1985.
Amu Saaka had a game-high 31 points for the Paladins (8-8, 2-2 SoCon), which is the most an opponent has scored on the Spartans this season. Bryson Barnes also scored in double figures with 15 points for the visitors.
Although the Spartans controlled most of the game and led by 17 at the half, Furman continued to chip away at the UNCG lead throughout the second half. UNCG didn't help its cause, either, missing seven of 12 free throw attempts during a 25-7 run by the Paladins. Furman pulled within six at 77-71 on a dunk by Saaka to cap the run with just under four minutes remaining.
After UNCG extended its lead back to nine points on a Randall free throw, the Paladins' Darryl Evans hit a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining to pull within six again at 80-74. That was as close as Furman would get the rest of the evening, however, as UNCG regrouped at the line and made all six of its final free throws and added in a layup to secure the victory.
The win was UNCG's first in its new home at the Coliseum. The Spartans had lost eight straight at home this season - four of those against Atlantic Coast Conference schools. Sprinkling in occasional appearances at the Coliseum while playing its home games at Fleming Gym, UNCG had lost 14 straight at the Coliseum going back to a January 16, 2002 win over cross-town school North Carolina A&T, 85-67.
The Spartans took control from the opening tip as they grabbed a 7-0 lead in less than three minutes, thanks to five early points from Koivisto. UNCG continued to stretch that margin to 22-7 on another jumper by Koivisto.
The Spartans continued to hound the Paladins on the defensive end as they limited Furman to just 28.6 percent shooting before the break. The Paladins made just eight of their 28 field goals in the first half, including just 2-of-13 from behind the arc. They didn't break into double figures until just under 10 minutes remained in the half and at the under 12-minute media timeout had more fouls (eight) than points (seven).
Wofford 72, Elon 55
ELON, N.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team defeated Elon 72-55 at Alumni Gym on Saturday night to improve to 2-2 in the Southern Conference. The Terriers used an 18-4 run at the end of the first half to pull away and secure the win.
Wofford is 10-7 on the season and 2-2 in the SoCon, while Elon is 3-12 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 18 points and five rebounds, while Jamar Diggs had 17 points. Tim Johnson had nine rebounds. The Phoenix were led by Adam Constantine with 21 points and 21 rebounds.
The Terriers had an early 6-2 lead, but the Phoenix tied the game at six, eight and ten points. Elon took their first lead of the night at 12:38 with a bucket and free throw by T.J. Douglas for a 13-10 advantage. Nathan Parker scored the next two baskets for Wofford to regain the lead at 14-13 just under the twelve minute mark.
Wofford continued the run with four more points to take an 18-13 lead. However the Phoenix responded with a quick 5-0 run to tie the game again at 18. The Terriers went on an 18-4 run to end the half, which included four points by Noah Dahlman, five by Nathan Parker and nine points by Jamar Diggs. Wofford had a 38-22 lead at the break as the Phoenix shot just 27.3% from the floor in the half.
To open the second half, Wofford scored six of the first seven points to increase the lead to 44-23 at the sixteen minute mark. Wofford had a 50-30 lead with 13:50 on the clock, but the Phoenix began chipping away at the advantage. After a three from Terrance Birdette at 8:13, the Wofford lead was down to 56-44.
The lead for Wofford was 63-49 with 3:51 left in the game. The Terriers used a lay-up by Brad Loesing and two free throws by Jamar Diggs to push the lead back to 68-50 with 2:15 on the clock. Wofford was able to make more free throws down the stretch than the Phoenix and came away with a 72-55 road win.
Wofford shot 46.5 percent from the floor and only had one three pointer (1-of-7). Elon shot 32.1 percent overall and was 9.5 (2-21) from three-point range. Wofford had a 39-31 lead on the boards. A total of 57 fouls were called in the game.
Georgia Southern 81, Western Carolina 76
STATESBORO, Ga. - Willie Powers scored all of his game-high 19 points in the second half, including 10 from the free throw line, as Georgia Southern snapped a nine-game losing streak with an 81-76 upset of Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference play at the Hanner Fieldhouse.
Powers, who was held scoreless in the opening 20 minutes, took a backseat to backcourt mate Antonio Hanson in the first half as the senior drained six 3-pointers to account for all of his game-total of 18 points in helping the Eagles (4-13, 1-3 SoCon) score 16-straight points and claim a game-high, 17-point lead.
The Catamounts closed the first half on a 15-to-4 run to claw within six, 39-33, at intermission.
In the second half, Western Carolina (12-3, 2-1 SoCon) was unable to reclaim the lead before GSU scored six of the game's final seven points for the victory.
WCU senior Kendall Russell led four Catamounts in double figures with a career-high 18 points. The Chicago, Ill., native added a game-high eight rebounds while blocking three shots. Classmate Brandon Giles finished with 13 points and five boards, while a third senior, Jake Robinson, chipped in 12 and junior Mike Williams scored 10 points.
Senior Brigham Waginger finished with eight points, five assists and three steals for WCU.
In addition to Powers and Hanson, Rory Spencer added 18 points for the Eagles which shot 56.3-percent (9-of-16) from behind the 3-point arc. Powers dished out seven assists, but also committed eight turnovers in the game.
Trailing by eight late, Western Carolina closed to within one point three times inside the final three minutes, including 77-76 with 54 seconds remaining in the game. However, the Eagles closed out the contest with a 5-0 run including four points by Powers in that stretch.
College of Charleston 61, The Citadel 55
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Despite double figure performances by Cameron Wells and Joe Wolfinger, The Citadel was unable to overcome a 13-7 run over the final 7:54 of action, falling 61-55 to rival College of Charleston. Wells finished with 14 points, while Wolfinger added 11 points, marking the only Bulldogs to reach double digits. Meanwhile, the Cougars were led by Andrew Goudelock (22 pts, 10 rebounds) and Donavan Monroe (19 pts).
The Citadel (8-8, 2-2 SoCon) had a decisive edge in bench scoring, 15-0, with solid performances by Bryan Streeter (7 pts), Daniel Eykyn (6 pts) and Austin Dahn (2 pts). The trio combined to hit 6-of-17 field goals and grab 15 rebounds, 10 on the defensive glass, in 72 minutes of action. As a unit the Bulldogs 3-point attack was handcuffed by Charleston, where they managed 3-of-18 (16.7%) in the contest. However, they hit 23-of-59 from the floor (39%) which tied the Cougars in made field goals.
Streeter anchored the paint for the Bulldogs, establishing a new career-high 10 rebounds (six defensive). Harrison DuPont chipped in seven boards to go along with his six points. Eykyn rounded out the reserves with six points.
As for the Cougars, who improve to 9-6 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference play, Goudelock controlled the offense with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He hauled down nine boards. Monroe, who knocked down 5-of-11 from the field, finished with a 4-of-7 night from beyond the arc. Combined the two hit 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Jeremy Simmons added to his conference lead in blocked shots with four, totaling 33 on the season. Charleston hit 23-of-50 (46%) from the floor, which included 6-of-22 from 3-point range.
With the Bulldogs leading 45-42 at the 10:06 mark, Donavan Monroe converted a four-point play to give Charleston a one point lead. On the ensuing Bulldog possession, DuPont came off a screen to hit the go-ahead trey just over a minute later.
The game reached a 52-52 tie with 4:25 to go on the clock before a pair of jumpers by Tony White Jr. and Goudelock gave the Cougars a four point lead. With solid defense on both ends of the court, the Cougars sustained their advantage, before Goudelock broke the game open with a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to take a 59-52 lead.
A late Urbanus three-pointer accounted for the final points in the 61-55 final.